Lord of the Flies - Aftermath
by Runaway Artist
Summary: Well, I needed some closure to the book, and I think so did everyone else. I couldn't find anything about the twins being alive or dead, so I used what I thought, which was that they are both dead.
1. Chapter 1

Things went back to normal, or as normal as one could get.

After being rescued by adults, all the bigguns were questioned first, which meant anyone above 10 was old enough for questioning right away. Sadly for Ralph, he was the first to go and explain what had happened, which seemed like an eternity to him. He had to explain every detail, every gruesome detail that happened on that island, which included the deaths of his friends.

He stayed strong through the interview, finally, he ended, was asked a few more questions, and was told that he could finally go and wash up.

Greedily, he took a shower, taking as long as he wanted and felt like. He felt so damned dirty; no amount of cleaning would get rid of the filth on him, even though he scrubbed long and hard at his skin till it was all red. He washed his hair at least three times, getting out the grease and the dirt and the grime.

Finally, he was done bathing, and a new pair of clothing waited for him outside the shower. Fresh, clean clothes, which he never knew he took granted for till now. He slipped on the clothing, glad to ditch his old ones.

Ralph turned, and looked himself in the mirror, seeing just how wounded he was now, and how badly he looked. He also had no idea what to do with his hair. He wasn't too sure if he wanted it cut, or to leave it like it is, as a reminder as to what happened on the island when chaos strikes out.

Well, his family would make him cut it sometime, so for now, he kept it the way it was, except he tied it back rather messily, and brushed his bangs away from his eyes, which was now easier to do due to it not being so greasy, and instead wet and clean.

He exited the bathroom, and looked around the corridor, wondering where to go now. He followed his sense of hearing, hearing shouting and fits of laughter, and that dreaded chant.

"Kill the pig!"

The voices got louder as he walked closer.

"Slit its throat!"

Ralph felt anger start to boil in his blood, never wanting to hear this chant again.

"Spill its blood!"

The chanting was louder, and he stood in front of the closed door it came from, breathing heavily in anger, as well as feeling tears start to brim his eyes and make his sight fuzzy.

"Do it in!"

Without thinking twice, he grabbed the door handle, and threw it open, gripping the handle so hard, he thought he might break the small delicate thing.

"Enough!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, all laughter and chanting and movement halting to a stop, as all eyes turned to him. The littuns with their faces still painted were running around the room, he could tell, because the ones who were on the beach with him during their time on the island were huddled in beds, looking frightened, but relaxed slightly as they looked towards Ralph.

"Haven't you all had your fun? Haven't you had enough? Well, I for one, have! So quit your mucking around, and get yourselves tidied up!" he shouted, trying to calm a bit. These guys had no clue what was going on in the island, thinking it was only fun and games. Well, the games where over now, and they were all about to face serious trouble, especially Jack and Roger.

Ralph huffed, and left, stomping his feet slightly as he did. The room remained silent.

Without realizing it, Ralph made his way up to the deck of the big ship. He paused for a moment, before slowly walking over to the edge, and leaned on the railing. He stared down into the water below that was being pushed by the big, heavy metal monster of the ocean. His mind began to wander to the memories of his friends, who were now gone. Piggy and Simon had both been taken out to sea, their bodies never to be seen again, nor any other part of them. Ralph doesn't even remember the whereabouts of Piggy's specs that he so badly needed to wear.

Tears once more formed in his eyes, but he threatened them, and told them not to come out. He wanted to be strong, in order, in control of himself.

Samneric. He hadn't the slightest clue what happened to them, but knew they were gone as well, he just knew it. Since boarding the ship, there had been no trace of the twins. Oh, he just wished those two had each other when they died, like they always were when alive. It would be terrifying for the two of them to be split.

Ralph leaned his head on his hand, shaking his head and looking down, eyes shut tight and trying to erase his memories, but no matter how much he willed them to, more memories of the four flooded his mind.

"They were too young!" he shouted, slamming his fist on the railing now. "They were too young! Why would you do this?! You bloody fuckers!" Ralph screamed, now at the very blue sky, a few clouds dolling along above him.

It was too much. Tears started pouring from his eyes, and running down his cheeks. They stung, because of his sore and swollen eye, and from lack of water in his system, but he welcomed the pain and continued to cry out loud, sobbing uncontrollably.

He only wished he had done more to protect them all. Why hadn't he tried harder? Why hadn't he done more? What went wrong?

The tears continued, and the sobbing and yelling and banging of the railing. One of the sailors must have heard, because suddenly there was a gentle hand on Ralph's shoulder, and a deep voice said to him, "Come on, son, let's get you back under and with the other older kids."

Ralph went willingly, still sobbing hard and shaking uncontrollably, not realizing that the sailor had told him that he'd be sharing a room with the other bigguns, which now consisted of himself, Jack and Roger.

By the time he was at the door of the room, Ralph had composed himself enough to stop crying, but continued to shake and his breath was deep and sharp at times, keeping the never ending tears at bay. The door opened, and there were four beds inside this room, two of which were already occupied by Jack and Roger, on one side of the room, and two empty beds at the other wall. The sailor left, leaving the boys alone in the room.

The two had been talking before Ralph arrived, he realized, because they now stared uneasily at him. He couldn't tell what was in their eyes. Sadness? Regret? Guilt? Or was it more along the lines of anger? Or revenge? He couldn't tell.

Instead, Ralph decided to choose a bed at the opposite wall, and lied on top of it, his back towards the other two, facing the wall. He had no need to talk to them.

He did notice, however, that the two were bathed and wearing clean clothes. No more of that damned face paint, or ragged clothing. All of that was gone.

Slowly, the rocking of the ship made Ralph tired, as well as from running and hiding and trying to stay alive just hours ago, and fell into a rather deep sleep, welcoming the darkness with open arms.

He wasn't worried about the other two trying to kill him now. Adults where everywhere here, and didn't let the boys touch any weapons of the sort. He felt safe here, for now.

Ralph awoke the next morning, feeling rather confused and his head pounded, as well as feeling a pain in his gut from hunger. He looked around the room, and noticed the now empty beds on the opposite wall. He really couldn't tell how long he'd been asleep, but frankly he did not care. For once he didn't have to be in charge of everything, or fear for his life, or someone else's. All he was worried about at this moment, was getting food. While walking the corridors, he tried to remember the last time he had eaten, which he figured it was before he was hunted, when Samneric gave him the meat at Castel Rock.

Once more, he followed his hearing, the noise of chatter and laughter guiding him, and, thankfully, nothing about that annoying chanting. Maybe the littluns had learned their lesson.

He stopped at opened double doors, which held some tables, and a line of both adults and children, being served by women behind the counters. Ralph scanned the room, going unnoticed by all. He liked this. It felt familiar and normal.

Ralph casually made his way to the end of the line, waiting to be served by the women. Even though he was starving, he didn't have much on his tray. He found an empty space, and headed towards it, sitting down all on his own. That is, until a littlun made his way, and sat across from Ralph. He recognized him as one of the children that stayed at the beach with him, instead of going off with Jack. The young boy smiled at Ralph, and he returned the smile a bit before stuffing his face with food.

Gradually, more littluns made their way to his table, still feeling safer near their chief from the island than with Jack. Chatter started at the table, and soon laughter followed, all without Ralph joining in.

"Ralph?" His attention snapped at the sound of his name, and turned to the littlun who had said his name, smiling slightly.

"Wanna play on the deck with us after eating?" he said hopefully, and those around him and at the table made sounds of agreement and hopefulness.

Ralph took a moment, before nodding his head happily, causing all the boys at the table to be filled with delight, smiling widely. Well, if he could at least do one thing right, it was to keep these guys entertained and happy, out of the way of the adults.

After eating, a few littluns went to go find something to play with, while the others and Ralph went onto the deck. The day was nice, the sun on their already burnt and reddened skin, but wearing sunscreen now, to prevent further damage. Clouds occasionally blocked out the sun, and the wind blew cold sea water onto them, a nice change from the unbearable heat and humidity on the island.

A few moments later, the littluns came onto the deck, smiling widely. They held up the item they had received, an empty, cleaned out can. They all seemed excited to play a game of kick the can, and had Ralph do the honors of starting the game.

It was one of the few moments Ralph felt he was at ease, and rather happy. The cheerful laughter of the kids made him smile widely, and for a while, everything seemed alright. The littluns were having fun, all without a single care in the world, except to make sure the can didn't fall from in between the railing at the bottom, and kicking that silly can around. It was a childish game, but it was a break Ralph needed from the harsh reality that hounded him.

After a while, Ralph began feeling light headed and dizzy, but try as he might he couldn't shake it off. Eventually, he wouldn't play anymore. He walked over to the railing, holding it for support, and he felt like he couldn't stand anymore, feeling hot, panting and sweating heavily.

"Ralph?" one of the older littluns said, noticing and causing other eyes to turn to him, stopping the game.

"I'm… I'm fine.." Ralph whispered, not able to speak more clearly than one who sounds in major pain. He tried to reassure the frightened little ones by smiling, but it was pained looking. He then pulled himself to look over the edge, and emptied the contents of his stomach, everything he had eaten since waking up and the previous day. The world went black, spinning fast, and he fell away from the edge, onto the hard deck, hearing someone shout his name, maybe a littlun, before darkness took over. He wasn't scared, oddly enough.

When Ralph awoke, he was in a completely different surrounding. He was still on the ship, he could tell, because of the crashing of the waves that he could hear very dimly outside. He looked at his surroundings. He was in a bed, white sheets and white blanket that covered him. There was pressure and a hugging feeling on his chest and head, and his right arm. His eyes looked over to his arm, to see it covered by white gauze, a tube coming from his arm, and to a bag full of clear fluid that hung up on a metal pole next to his bed. He used his left arm to touch his chest, only to pull it back out from the covers and being slightly red.

Ralph started to panic, but forced himself to calm down as he touched the gauze on his head, having the same effect.

Everywhere hurt. His head hurt, and the room continued to rock back and forth. His stomach hurt, and felt as if he was about to spill whatever was left in his gut, even though there wasn't. He felt so nauseous, and wondered if he even wanted to be awake right now and deal with all of this.

Suddenly, the door handle turned, and a woman dressed in all white with her hair pulled back in a tight bun entered. At first, her expression was blank, but smiled once she noticed Ralph was awake.

"Hullo…" Ralph said, surprised how off his voice sounded.

"You gave everyone quite a scare, dear." She said, standing beside his bedside now and checking the needle in his arm and the bag attached to it.

"What happened?" he asked, honestly having no memory of what had happened to him, and why he was now in this weird room.

"Well, from what we have figured out, something inside of you cause you to throw up, and you are running a pretty high fever at the moment, as well as your wounds on your chest opening up, now infected. What did you eat at that island?" she explained, and asked.

Ralph closed his eyes, feeling exhausted and tired of watching the room rock back and forth. "I uh… Ate a lot of fruit.. And some pig.." he said, very hesitant on saying the name. His thoughts started to flood of Piggy, causing tears to form in his closed eyes.

"That pig might be what is causing it. The others are lucky though, you're the only one infected." She said, smiling sympathetically. The nurse changed the gauze on his head and with much effort on his side, changed the gauze around his chest and cleaned it, which stung so much, and checked his temperature.

After all this, she left him alone in the silent, white room to his thoughts.

_"Piggy.."_ he thought, eyes closed once more. They were all too young.. Why did it have to happen? Why couldn't Jack just stay sensible and helped keep a fire going, and help take care of everyone? Why did he have to go off and make his own tribe?

Now, because of that, Piggy, Simon, and Samneric where dead. Gone. Never to be seen again.

_"I never even knew Piggy's real name.."_ he realized, and the tears finally rolled down his face. Broken sobs escaped his mouth, and he couldn't keep it in anymore.

_"I never knew Piggy's name.. Instead I taunted him with that ridiculous name, even though it bothered him.. I'm the worse friend…."_

Ralph continued crying, eventually crying himself to sleep.

His eyes opened sometime in the middle of the night, looking at the very dark room, the only light being illuminated from the silvery moonlight outside the window. There was slight movement in the shadows, almost causing his heart to stop, but he said or did nothing.

The shadow walked over, and laughed, holding something up.

"I told you, we'd do away with you, chief." Said the voice, and Ralph recognized it easily. It was Jack's.

His heart started pounding widely in his chest, going to scream for help, but found his voice was silent. He said nothing.

Jack grabbed Ralph's free arm, and turned it, exposing his vein. A needle stuck into his vein, and Jack injected something into him, taking effect immediately. It made him feel light headed and like his whole body was burning and on fire!

"You'll be with your pathetic friends soon enough." Jack said, Ralph barely able to hear him as he fell into darkness.

Ralph eyes shot opened, as he gasped for breath. There were three doctors and two nurses in his room, shouting at one another for something or other. Once they realized, however, that the boy was awake, they all backed off, giving him space to breath.

He coughed hard, sitting up now from how much he was coughing and trying to regain his breath, till, finally, he leaned over the bed, once again emptying his stomach, panting heavily and covered in sweat.

"Get this cleaned up." One said gently, looking up at the boy for a long time, still leaning over the bed.

"Wh-wha happened?" Ralph muttered, his voice sounding worse than it did the last time he was awake.

The remaining doctor and nurse exchanged glanced, looking very worried and uneasy.

"Son.. Your heart stopped for a few moments while you were asleep. We were trying to get it started again, when you suddenly came back to life…" the doctor explained, grabbing a clipboard and scribbling something down on the paper.

"Nurse, keep an eye on him. I want him checked every hour now."

"Yes, sir." She said, nodding.

Ralph slowly lied back down as the doctor left. Sidestepping the vomit, the nurse walked to the door, saying behind her shoulder, "I'll get you some water, dear." And left him alone once more.

He shivered widely, and brought the blanket up farther, curling in a ball as much as he could with his hurting chest and tube sticking out of his arm. Ralph would have cried, if his eyes still had some liquid in them.


	2. Chapter 2

As instructed by the doctor, a nurse came around every hour to his little hospital room, checking his vital signs, his heart, the bag the put clear liquid into his body, his injuries, everything. They made sure he was alright, and left the room, all of this taking about 20 minutes to do.

Ralph hated being like this, but it couldn't be helped. One nurse had told him he has a pretty high fever, and no matter what he couldn't stop shaking. Even with three thick blankets on top of his body, he still shook from feeling cold. He could barely keep food down as well. Anything he ate he just threw back up an hour later, the only thing he could keep down properly was water, but even then he would throw that up every so often.

He looked better than when he was on the island, however. He wasn't as skinny despite not having the ability to keep anything down, and the clear liquid that went into his arm and throughout his body made sure he had the nutrients his body couldn't get from the food. All in all, he was better than what he was on the island.

Every now and again, a group of littluns came and visited Ralph, with the permission of the adults, as well as being told not to cause him any unnecessary stress, in fear of the young males heart giving out once more.

"I'm quite surprised." A nurse said to Ralph, as she was doing the normal routine each nurse did.

Ralph looked at her, rather confused as to what she meant. The nurse understood this, shaking her head and laughing slightly.

"Those younger kids would have been more at risk of getting what you have than yourself. So, what confuses me, is why are you the only one infected, while those little ones aren't? Also, you were in worse shape than those kids."

She paused at what she was doing, which was checking the bag holding the fluids, turned to the confused boy, and said, "Why is that?"

Ralph looked at his hands, blinking as he screwed up his face a bit, trying to think. Lately he's been having trouble remembering things from the island, besides the death of his friends.

"Um… I was the chief, so.. I had to take care of the littluns and everyone else.. I didn't eat quite as much as them… Uhh... Some of them were also fed meat… But, I made sure to take care of the littluns as best as I could." Ralph explained the best he could, trying his best not to mention what kind of meat they had eaten. He feared he might start sobbing in front of the kind nurse if he did.

The nurse was silent for a while, before she nodded thoughtfully. "Well," she said, smiling widely, "I think that was a very wonderful thing you did, taking care of the younger ones, chief." She said, and ruffled the males hair a bit, causing him to smile slightly.

"Some of the kids wanted to come and see you, so I'll let them in, if you want."

Ralph nodded, and sat up some more in his bed as the nurse left. He always loved having the littluns come in and see him, because every other time he was completely alone with just his mind, which he realized was very dangerous. The kids always had some way of entertaining him, like playing card games, well more like him teaching them how to play, and attempting to play a few minutes later only to have them do something wrong, but Ralph didn't care. Sometimes they'd come and tell him a story or two, mainly when it was just a single littlun, but most of the time they showed up in groups of two or three, or sometimes four. The room was small, so there couldn't be that many.

The door opened, and this time, it was only two of them, but they looked very happy and energetic, laughing as they rushed in, closing the door behind them. One climbed up at the foot of the bed Ralph was laying on, sitting down next to his legs, while the other sat in the chair next to the bed.

He couldn't help it, he smiled and laughed at their energy and trying to get themselves situated. The one sitting in the chair reached into his pocket, and took out a box of cards. "We demand a rematch!" he exclaimed, only causing Ralph to smile and laugh more. "Alright, you're on."

Normally, only the littluns that had stayed with him on the beach visited, but every now and then a child that had become savage would come, and try to act like nothing had happened on this island, even though he could tell they felt sorry. He didn't blame them. They are children after all, so they had no idea what it was they were doing. Maybe if they had a few more years of knowledge they would have realized it right then and there, but that was the past, and he didn't hold the littluns responsible for what happened.

Ralph had come to notice something about himself. He was different before crashing on the island, more innocent and carefree, mainly worrying about himself. Now, he feels as if he has matured a lot more, and now cares greatly more for others than himself. Maybe that was just what happens when one is a leader of a whole bunch of people. Unlike Jack, he didn't let power get the better of him, and instead wanted to see the littluns safely home. Actually, he wanted everyone home. All the boys that where on that island shouldn't have been there. No kid… No, no one, littlun, biggun, or adult, should go through that.

He wasn't entirely sure if he blamed Jack and Roger for what happened on the island either. The beast was inside everyone, so there was no avoiding it. It would have been a matter of time before Ralph himself would have gone mad as well. Maybe not like how they went mad, but he could understand.

Another change that he noticed about himself, was that he still had long hair. Ralph wasn't sure he wanted to keep it this way or not, but hadn't asked so far for someone to cut it. He also thought he looked a bit more muscular. Maybe everything that came out from that island wasn't bad.

"Raaalph! How do you keep winning?!" the one on the bed with him shouted, before dramatically falling on his back and across Ralph's legs, careful not to hurt him. The other one crossed his arms, faking a pout but began giggling as he tried. "Sorry," Ralph said, shaking his head a bit in amusement, "but my mum and I play card games a lot."

There came a knock on the metal door, getting the attention of all the boys, before it opened up. A nurse walked in, and Ralph had forgotten it was time for one of them to check on him. "We'll play later or tomorrow." Ralph promised the boys with a smile, and they bounced in excitement as they hurriedly picked the cards up off the bed, and ran out the door, laughing and smiling the whole way down the hall.

She closed the door after the running boys, and began the normal routine. Really, it had only been three days he's been in the room, but it had felt like forever.

"How do you feel?" she asked him after she was done, and Ralph sighed heavily, sinking down into the bed. "Exhausted, and my head is starting to throb again." He said truthfully. It was odd how he felt so tired but hadn't done a single thing in days.

Anyhow, the nurse nodded understandingly, quickly leaving and coming back with two pills in her hand and a glass of water in the other. "If you can keep these down, they'll help with the headache and the fever." She explained, putting the tiny pills in the boys opened hand, and handing him the glass of water.

"Also, normally I wouldn't do this to you, but you have a visitor. Take those, and I'll send him in." she said over her shoulder, and left, closing the door.

For a moment, Ralph tilted his head at the door, wondering what she had meant, before turning his attention to the pills and water. He took one at a time, careful to not choke as they went down his throat. He made a face at the horrible tasting pills, but hoped that they would indeed help if he could keep them down.

Not long after her departure, the door knocked, and opened up slowly. Again, Ralph turned his head to the side, but started to panic when he saw the familiar face, although no longer in war paint and wearing dirty clothing.

Now, staring at each other, Ralph realized just how scared he was to see Jack face to face after the morning of being rescued. Would he still hate him? Does Jack still want him dead?

Ralph adjusted himself uncomfortably, holding the cup tightly in his hands on his lap.

But why did Jack want to see him?


	3. Chapter 3

The red headed male walked in, shutting the door behind him.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" he said, his face emotionless, which put Ralph in uneasiness.

"Uh, yeah." Ralph replied, shifting again in his bed, his heart racing rapidly.

Jack smirked, which only made Ralph feel more uneasy, as the red head walked over to him.

"What's the matter, chief?" he spat, clearly full of resentment towards Ralph.

"I thought we were friends. Aren't we, Ralph?"

Ralph remained silent, just staring at the other male, unsure of what to do or say.

Finally, he found his voice, and said, "What do you want, Jack?"

"Your head on a stick." Jack snapped, losing his smirk and now glaring at the other male, with hatred in his eyes. "You are stealing my hunters away. You just can't get enough of the spot light, can you?"

Ralph remained silent for a while, and Jack felt as if he had the upper hand, leaving the other male speechless. "What are you talking about? We aren't on the island anymore, so get ahold of yourself! You and Roger both! We are going home, what more do you want?!" Ralph said, gripping the cup that was still in his hands a bit tighter.

"I want to prove that I should have been chief! That I am better than you! You are weak, and didn't deserve to be chief! I'm sick of you always being in the spotlight!" Jack shouted back, anger filling in the both of them. Then silence. Deafening silence. It was so silent that the waved crashing against the metal of the boat could be heard, and the light buzzing noise the light on the ceiling made, and talking from somewhere else on the ship.

"You all voted me chief." Ralph said after a while of the two staring each other down. "You wouldn't have been able to handle being chief, if this is how you were going to act. You killed people, Jack, all because your pride got the best of you."

There was a moment of nothing once more, until Jack shook his head, laughing a bit. "Do you think you're so innocent? Remember, you helped kill Simon by joining in on the dance. Roger will take credit for killing fatty, but have you thought about what happened to Samneric? The boy you stabbed when hiding in the creepers was one of them. You killed one of the twins with a spear. The other one wouldn't stop bawling like a baby, and refused to leave his dead brothers side. Without him being here, I say it's pretty clear that he died in the fire, so, you really killed them both."

Ralph froze, his eyes widening slight. He couldn't tell if Jack was lying or not just to get to him. But, then again, since Samneric weren't on the ship…

Jack smiled, and turned towards the door. Before opening it, he looked over his shoulder, and said, "Don't worry, you'll be with your pathetic friends soon. Watch your back, chief." And with that, opened the metal door, and left Ralph all alone in the room.

Slowly, his eyes lowered from staring at the door were Jack had once been, to the cup in his hands. He felt numb, but at the same time in pain. There was a sharp pain in his chest, and his stomach twisted and turned every way. Ralph quickly leaned over the side of the bed, grabbed the bucket with one hand, the other still holding the cup, and threw up what was in his stomach. It was only water, and the pills that were supposed to keep his head from throbbing, but that didn't matter now.

Slowly, he set the cup on the table next to the bed, and lied down, covering himself with the three blankets up to his eyes, looking lifeless, but very much alive, and in pain.

The next day, all day, a storm raged on overhead. The ship rocked more than normal by the force of the angry waves. The wind outside howled and screamed every so often. The sky was dark, blocking out all sunlight. The rain hit hard and heavily on the ship, being heard all about the inside of it. Occasionally, the sky lit up brightly, and boomed loudly.

Littuns came in, still wanting to play, but some expressed their worry and fear of the raging storm outside the ship. Sometimes, a nurse or sailor would bring a crying littun to Ralph's room, unable to calm them down themselves. Unlike the adults, Ralph was able to get the littun to stop crying, and even smile and laugh within a matter of minutes. Ralph assumed it was because the adults were strangers, and since they had spent so long on the island with him, and looked up to him to protect them as chief, they felt safe around him.

"Big day, huh, chief?" said the nurse whom asked him about his appearance upon being rescued from the island. She was the only nurse who called him chief, too.

Ralph nodded. "I feel bad for them."

"Why's that?"

"There were a few really bad storms on the island during our stay, so now they are terrified of storms."

The nurse nodded understandingly. "Well, at least they have you to turn to." The nurse continued on with the normal routine, and was about to leave the room, when Ralph said, "Wait."

"What is it?" she asked, turning around to face him, smiling.

"Um.. Well.." Ralph wondered why he was so nervous upon asking. Why couldn't he just go right out and say it?

"Can I go and see the littuns? I know it is almost time for lights out for them, but they must be scared still."

There was a moment of silence as the nurse thought. "Hmmm. Well, your fever has gone down a bit, and being stuck in that bed must be driving you up the wall… Well, alright. Wait here while I get you some fresh clothes." And with that, the nurse left the room.

Ralph smiled widely, happy that she had agreed to let him go and see them. After a few moments, the nurse returned with black pants, and a white, long sleeved button up shirt.

"Now, don't be gone too long, and don't button up the shirt, so there isn't any unneeded stress on your wounds. Also, try not to bend backwards or forwards too much, deal?"

"Deal." Ralph said, nodding as he took the clothing.

"Need any help?"

He shook his head, and after taking out the needle on his arm and covering it with gauze, the nurse left, smiling at him before closing the door.

Quickly, he took off his pajamas, and put on the fresh clothing, which was too big for him, but then again it belonged to some sailor on the ship who had allowed him to borrow it, and was thankful for that.

Walking down the corridor of the ship was a tad difficult, especially one in Ralph's condition. Any normal person would have only slight difficulties with the over rocking ship, but Ralph felt tossed slightly.

Finally, after following his memory, he found the room the littuns had been assigned to. They were scattered all over the room in their pajamas already. Some looked very uneasy, and some looked like they had been crying or were about to again. This changed however, when one littun shouted, "Ralph!" and got everyone's attention. They all swarmed to see their chief, now smiling widely and talking all at once.

"Slow down, let me get through, you lot." He said, and couldn't help but smile at their excitement. They stopped talking so much, and allowed Ralph to carefully close the door behind him, and walk to the closest bed and sit down. Some of the littlest littuns climbed onto the bed with him, and sat down, while the other sat on the floor before him. This reminded him of having an assembly at the island, and a pang of sadness hit him, wishing his friends were beside him.

To the littuns, their chief hadn't changed much. He still looked as fair and golden as he did the first day on the island, except for his hair being longer, his skin looking tanner, and the gauze that wrapped around various parts of his body, but still unchanged.

"I know you're all scared.." he started, trying to figure out what to say that would help them. "But this ship is big, and my daddy told me ships like these can take worse storms. We are safer here than on the island. You all need to be brave, and try to get some sleep. You need to look and feel your best when you finally see your mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and friends and everyone else!" This made the littuns start to look hopeful, and not so frightened. "In the morning," he continued, "this storm will be gone, and the sun will be back. So, just try to stay brave. Think you can do that?"

There were nods and murmurs of agreement with him, and some littuns smiled more.

"Alright then, off to bed with you lot." He stood up from the bunk bed, and the children started making their ways to their beds, some saying goodnight to Ralph, a few coming up to him and hugging him carefully.

He walked back over to the door, and put a hand on the handle before turning back to look at them all. 'G'night." He said to them all, and they replied back with the same thing. As silently as possible, Ralph switched off the light to the room, and walked out, carefully closing the door.

If he had been in better condition, he might have stood on his head in his happiness, but could not at this moment, so instead just smiled widely, glad that he had at least helped the littuns a bit in sleeping easier, and maybe made sleeping easier for the adults too, if none got up due to being frightened.

Ralph walked the halls, in a much better mood and smiling widely. Suddenly, the lights flickered, and went out, leaving the entire corridor he was walking in, in complete darkness. His smile faded, and he realized he couldn't see very well, causing him to sigh heavily in dismay. He put one hand on the wall, and walked, using his sense of touch and hearing to guide him in the darkness.

Some force pushed him against the wall, and before he could react, the force grabbed a fist full of his hair, and hit the side of his head against the metallic wall. In a second, Ralph fell to the floor, knocked unconscious by the blow.


	4. Chapter 4

When Ralph awoke, he knew right away something wasn't right. There was strange hotness on the side of his head, running all the way down to his neck. His hair was tossed around, and cold, wet drops fell on him, and there was a lot of noise. He also realized, he could not separate his legs at the ankles, and his hands at the wrists.

His eyes opened, and it was very hard to see in the darkness.

"Oh, he's awake!" he heard a familiar male voice shout out, followed by the laughter of another.

"Good morning, chief! How'd you sleep?" said the laughing voice in a very obvious sarcastic way.

Ralph squinted in the darkness, just as there was a flash of lightning which lit up the whole sky. "Jack?" He said, instantly recognizing the flaming red hair, knowing only one person had such hair.

"Well, at least he isn't brain dead." Said the other voice. Slowly, Ralph's eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he was able to make out the figures more clearly now, as well as were he was.

He struggled against the ropes tying his mobility, and looked around frantically. "Why are my hands tied? Why are we on the deck? Jack!" he said, his voice rapid and frantic.

Roger crouched in front of Ralph with a sly grin on his face. "Don't worry, chief. You won't be up here for much longer." And he stood back up.

"If I remember correctly," said Jack, "you are a good swimmer, aren't you?"

Ralph looked at them, with a very confused and frightened look on his face. He then turned his head to look behind him, and saw he was leaned against the railings, and below him, the raging ocean. He looked back at the two male, shaking his head a bit.

"Why are you two doing this?! You aren't savages!" Ralph screamed.

"No, we aren't." Roger said slowly, and the two started walking over to him. "This is just business."

"Payback."

"Revenge." The two boys said in turn.

Jack grabbed Ralph from under his arms, while Roger grabbed his legs.

"You'll be with your pathetic friends soon enough. Tell them we said hi." Jack said, and Roger smirked wider at this.

"Wha- Have you lost your humanity?! Put me down!" Ralph screamed, unsure of what to do as they lifted him up.

The boys were getting ready to throw Ralph overboard. "This is it." He thought to himself. "I'm going to die here, without seeing my mum or dad again. I don't want to die!"

That's when he saw it. Attached to Jack's belt was his dagger he had with him on the island, and Ralph guessed it was never taken by the adults. Maybe their mistake might save his life!

Desperately, he started to squirm and try to get them to drop him.

"Stop it!" Roger said, and Ralph could tell he was starting to get angry with this.

"Don't let him go!" Jack shouted, but just as he did, Ralph kicked as hard as he could at Roger, successfully getting him in the gut and causing his grip to loosen greatly as the air was knocked out of him.

His legs hit the wooden deck, and with all the strength he could muster, kicked against the railing, causing Jack to lose his footing on the slippery deck and fall backwards. The wind was knocked out of the red haired male upon hitting the wood, and having Ralph's weight on top of his own. Quickly, Ralph snatched the dagger from Jack's belt, sat up, and pushed himself away from the two, just as Roger had regained enough breath in him to stand up and function somewhat properly.

Ralph's hands shook, as he used the dagger as a saw and began cutting away at the rope, which made him cut himself once or twice, but he had so much fear and addredelin in him, he couldn't feel it.

"You…" Roger stammered, still recovering, as Jack slowly sat up, coughing slightly.

The rope broke free, and Ralph quickly went to work on cutting the ropes around his ankles.

"Why would you bring that?!" Roger shouted at Jack, who seemed in a rather confused daze, looking at Roger and Ralph rapidly.

The rope gave in, and Ralph quickly climbed to his feet, shaking as he did and dropping the dagger, and ran. Roger cursed, called Jack useless, and ran after Ralph. Before reaching the door to go below deck, Roger caught up, grabbing his wrist and yanking him back, causing Ralph to hit the deck hard and slide backwards, away from safety.

"This could have been easier and painless." Roger said, his voice cold sounding. Ralph looked down, and saw something gleam in the other boy's hand. Quickly, he stole a glance behind him, and noticed the dagger was no longer on the ground, but now occupied in Roger's hand.

Ralph crawled away from Roger, until he could no longer due to the railing that separated himself and the enraged waters below. Ralph couldn't think straight, and wished with all his might that Piggy was there to help and tell him what to do. He was good with those kind of things. A thinker, unlike Ralph himself.

"Maybe.." Ralph thought, time seeming to slow down. "Maybe I do deserve to die.."

There was sudden pain in his arm, which caused him to shout in pain. Hotness now ran down his arm, and he felt like he couldn't move it. Desperately, his eyes looked up, and a crash of lightning filled the sky in light, and he was able to see the crimson stuff on the dagger, and the insane look in Roger's eyes.

"I killed Simon. I didn't save Piggy. I killed the twins." His mind raced, as he watched the blade raise high in the air slowly, and Roger's slight laughter.

"I just hope I see them.."

"Lights out, chief."

The blade swung downwards, and Ralph instinctively flinched, waiting for impact.

"Enough!" he heard someone shout, a bolt of lightning filling the sky once more, and a force shoved at Roger.

The blade went flying into the air, and Roger hit against the railing with a loud thud, and fell to the deck floor, not moving.

Standing there, panting, was Jack, staring at the unmoving body of Roger on the deck. His gaze then turned to Ralph, and he noticed there was something different in his eyes now.

"Are you okay, Ralph?" He asked, turning to the boy. Ralph couldn't answer, however, because the place began getting too blurry, his head throbbed with so much pain, as did his arm and his whole being. For the second time that night, darkness swallowed him, the only noises that he heard before disappearing, was the heavy raindrops against the deck of the ship, and Jack shout his name frantically, as well as a few other words.

Before sight kicked in, his hearing did. There was slight talking that sounded very muffled, as if coming from another room, and the sound of beeping. It was a steady beeping noise, which one could grow to dislike because of it repetitiveness, but in this case it was different.

Ralph opened his eyes, and the brightness was overwhelming, but still tried and opened them. He found himself no longer on the deck of the ship, drenched in blood and rain, but laying on a very comfortable bed, and felt clean and dry.

He felt the familiar hugging and pressure sensation on his chest, but a bit more this time, as well as on his head and arm.

Ralph looked around, noticing the familiar tube sticking into his arm and the clear liquid, and realized that the beeping was from him, as there was something attached to his chest, reading his heartbeat each time it made its bu-dum noise.

His eyes finally fell upon the wall to his right, and noticed that he wasn't alone. In a pile on the floor and leaning on the wall was a few littuns, whose names he couldn't remember at the time, but were all fast asleep, some covered in blankets and some laying their heads on pillows or each other. Finally, in a chair next to were the littuns lay, he saw someone staring back at him, with flaming red hair. However, unlike last time, Jack now had noticeable bags underneath his eyes, and were red, as if he had been crying recently.

At the sight of seeing Ralph move, his eyes opened and awake, he jumped from his seat on the chair, standing on his legs now.

"R..Ralph.." he stammered, clearly not knowing what to say. "I'm... I'm so sorry.."

Ralph tried saying something, but his voice cracked and gave out when he did, so he sighed in disapproval, and gave Jack a slight smile. Of course, Jack wasn't forgiven just yet, but his apology was acknowledged.

With much more effort than it needed, Ralph moved his right arm, and pointed slightly to the bundle of littuns. Jack took a quick glance behind him to see what was being pointed at, and turned back. "Some have been here since you came in, others were taking shifts. It's about midnight now."

There was nothing said or done for a few moments, until Ralph closed his eyes, and looked away from Jack, sighing deeply. "H-how long..?" he asked with much effort, his voice cracking and sounding odd. Seems like everything he did took more effort than needed.

"You've been out for about four days..." Jack . ?docid=37631447

Ralph obviously became distressed by this, as his eyes shot open wide and stared at Jack, disbelief in his eyes. "Wha... What?" He stuttered.

Jack nodded as he walked closer to the bedside, giving Ralph the ability to see him better and not have to turn his head so much to see. "The doctors said you have a concussion, but were really lucky there is no internal bleeding or other damage, you might just have occasional headaches. I didn't think Roger threw you against the wall that hard." He said, frowning and then sighing heavily. "I'm really sorry man."

"Where's Roger?" Ralph asked, ignoring Jack's apology. Slowly, he tried sitting up, but it took more effort than needed, and, oddly enough, he couldn't move his left arm at all. Ralph looked down at it, wrapped in a cast, and stared at it with confusion and bewilderment. "Roger is in another hospital room. He hit his head pretty hard on the railing when I pushed him. He needed stitches." Jack said guiltily, but not entirely. "Your arm is like that because when Roger stabbed you, he hit a nerve. The doctors said it'll heal, but you will have to go through physical therapy afterwards to use it normally again." he explained, noticing Ralph's confusion with the arm.

Understanding, Ralph slowly nodded, and adjusted were he sat a bit to get a bit more comfortable. "What about you? Are you alright?" Ralph asked, now looking at the red haired male, who nodded. "Yeah, just a bruise on my back from falling on the deck, but other than that, I got away without harm."

Ralph noticed now just how much since being rescued Jack had changed as well. Just like his own hair, Jack's was lighter and longer now, but not as long, and his skin was tanned, but his freckles were still noticeable. He also looked more muscular, like himself, but his attitude changed. He no longer was prideful and trying to be in command and get the last word, he actually seemed to be a bit timid with talking. Maybe it was from regret and guilt for what happened on the island.

Jack yawned a bit, and turned to look at the still sleeping littuns in the corner. "You know," he said, "they were all worried about you."

Ralph looked at them as well, and smiled slightly. "They're a wild bunch."

The red haired male laughed quietly and nodded. "Their parents must be worried sick, too."

There was silence between the two older males, just watching the littuns sleep peacefully, until Jack sighed, and headed for the door, turning to face Ralph over his shoulder. "I'll go let one of the doctors know you're up." he said.

Ralph nodded, and watched as the door clicked closed quietly, as to not disturb the sleeping bunch of littluns. He was alone now, no noise except for the slight crashing noises outside, the beeping of the heart monitor, and the slight breaths of the littuns.


End file.
